An A4 card featuring slots through which isolated words could be read was uncovered in his cell at Strangeways, Cregan's murder trial heard

A stencil which could have been used to send coded messages was found in Dale Cregan’s prison cell, a court heard.

An A4 card featuring slots through which isolated words could be read was uncovered in his cell on a segregated wing at Strangeways on January 24 this year, Cregan's murder trial heard.

The discovery of the stencil, also referred to as a cipher in court, prompted a governor to order a full search of Cregan and his cell the following day.

The search discovered a document written by one his co-defendants about the murder of Mark Short in Droylsden's Cotton Tree pub which was found among his papers, the jurors heard.

On the 26th day of the trial at Preston Crown Court, a prison officer at Strangeways told the court about the search he helped to conduct on January 25.

The officer told the jury: “We were required to do the search by the governor, the head of security, to remove non-legal papers, the reason being that the day previous a search had been carried out in Mr Cregan’s cell and a template had been found, possibly for the use of coded messages.”

The prison officer told the jury Cregan showed no reaction as the search began.

Cregan was asked if there were any sharp items on which the prison officers conducting the search could cut themselves and then whether there were any legal papers or religious items he wished to be removed before the search began, the court heard.

He was then taken to another cell while the search continued, the officer said.

The prison officer said there was a considerable amount of legal papers by the door but he added that Cregan had not wished those papers to be removed as the search continued, as was his right.

The officer said a box of Cregan’s personal papers found under his bed was taken away to be searched, and one document in particular was seized.

The document was read out to the jury and described the author’s movements around the time of the murder of Mark Short in the Cotton Tree pub.

Cregan, 29, of no fixed abode, denies murdering Mark Short and three counts of attempted murder also in the Cotton Tree pub.

Cregan also denies murdering David Short, another count of attempted murder and causing an explosion with a hand grenade.